A Walk in the Park
by mythical-madien
Summary: Orihime has family visiting. Her cousin is sassy, ballsy, and has a hidden talent. When she catches the eye of quiet, strong, stoic Chad how will the dynamics mesh? And what's going on with the Spirit world?
1. Chapter 1

~~~~The day was lovely in all aspects. The sun was bright. Birds were happily chirping. And possibly the best thing was that no Hollows had attacked in a couple of entire gang was

enjoying lunch outside under a big tree, which in itself was a rare thing. Ichigo and Uryuu were arguing, as usual, about who was more annoying and and Orihime were watching the

spectacle while giving the occasional giggle or eye roll. Chad was lying against the tree with his eyes closed just enjoying the day. Suddenly Orihime let out a small "oh", which caught

everyone's attention. "Is something wrong?" Ichigo asked frowning. "Oh no! I just remembered that I have a cousin coming to visit me from the States. She's arriving tonight. I can't forget

to meet her at the airport, that's all." She said waving wildly with her hands. "Why is she coming now?" Uryuu asked pushing up his glasses. Orihime gave a smile. "She just got out of a

bad relationship with a guy and wanted some time away to clear her head. We haven't seen each other in quite a few years, but we've been writing letters for as long as I can remember."

Everyone seemed to accept this answer and the boys quickly resumed their argument.

~~~~The day went without incident and Orihime went to get her cousin at the airport. Rukia was kind enough to go with her so she wouldn't be alone. They stood by baggage claim and

looked for the number of the plane her cousin was on. "Oh look. I see the number. She should be here any time. What's her name and what does she look like so if I see her I can get her

attention?" Rukia asked. "Her name is Rianna. After all these years I can't really say for sure what she looks like. That's why I brought this sign!" As Orihime said this she pulled out an

obnoxiously bright sign reading "Rianna". Just as Rukia was about to comment on it there was a yell from a distance. "Orihime! Orihime!" Both of the girls turned to see where the call had

come from.

~~~~Running towards the two was a girl. She was taller than the women around her by a good three inches. Her hair was a mass of layered light brown waves that fell to her mid back with

bangs partially covering the right side of her face. Her skin was light, but still held the golden glow of being kissed by the sun. As she ran it was clear that she was athletic, yet her body

was muscular and curvy, strong and feminine at the same time. She never slowed as she neared, almost taking Orihime off her feet in a exuberant hug. When she pulled away Rukia could

see that she had a pair of extraordinarily bright and beautiful green and gold eyes. The centers began a deep gold and faded out into a vivid olive green surrounded by a ring of hunter on

the edges. They were stunning.

~~~~"It's been entirely too long cousin!" Orihime said jumping excitedly. "I agree! I love writing you letters, but I've sorely missed your company. Life is so dull without your bubbly spirit

around." Rianna said equally as excited. Rukia gave a small cough. Orihime gave a small gasp. "Oh! Rianna, this is Rukia. Rukia, this is my cousin Rianna." Rianna gave a big smile showing

a set of impeccably white teeth. Extending her hand she said, "It's so nice to meet you! 'Hime has told me so much about you. It's nice to finally be able to put a face to the name." Rukia

took her hand and gave it a polite shake. "It's nice to meet you also." The baggage machine began to move and Rianna turned to look at the sign about the conveyer belt. "That's my

flight. Let me just grab my bags and we can get going." Orihime gave a sigh. "It's so great to see her again." Rukia gave a nod and said, "She seems very nice and friendly." Orihime gave

a nod and replied, "Oh, she is. Don't let it give you any false impressions though. She is one of the most capable people that I've ever known." Rukia raised an eyebrow. Just as she was

about to say more about it Rianna came running over. "You girls ready to go? I'm starving. Airplane food is WAY too expensive for the quality."

With that the three got into a cab and left.

~~~~Rukia had them drop her off near Ichigo's place on the way. Once at Orihime's apartment the two girls made a night of movies, junk food, face masks, and pedicures. "Hey Orihime?"

Rianna asked going slightly quiet. Orihime froze in the middle of her attempt to shove a slice of three layer cake in her mouth. "Is something wrong, Rianna?" Rianna looked over at her

cousin and gave a small hopeful smile before replying, " Well, it's just that we planned on me being over here for a few weeks and I don't want to just be sitting around the house all the

time. So, I was wondering if you would mind if I enrolled at your school while I was here?" There was a pause. Suddenly, Orihime jumped across the floor to tackle Rianna in a

bone-crushing hug. "That would be so Wonderful! I could introduce you to my friends and we could hang out more. Also, this way you wouldn't be alone for most the day. I Would Love It!"

Rianna let out a sigh. "I'm so glad you agree, Orihime." She replied. "But if that's the case, we need to get in bed! I really don't want horrible bags under my eyes from Jet Lag." With that

the two turned in to get a semi-decent night of sleep, even though they still stayed up for hours talking and giggling.


	2. Chapter 2

~~~~The girls woke up early the next morning excited about the prospect of the on coming obviously didn't have a school uniform, so she had to borrow a spare set Orihime had.

Everything fit fine except the skirt was a bit shorter than Rianna would have liked. Then again, she was taller than Orihime and it was only temporary. Grabbing their bags, they left early to

enroll Rianna.

~~~~Walking up to the school Rianna raised an eyebrow. "This is quite a bit bigger than what I'm used to 'Hime" She said with a slight nervous tone. Orihime grabbed her hand and gave

her a tug. "You'll be fine. Where is the I-can-do-anything attitude I know and love?" Rianna gave a smile and squeezed Orihime's hand replying, "It's still right here. This is just a big leap

from home. I'm fairly sure half the town could fit in that school." They both laughed and headed up the front steps.

~~~~After Rianna got her schedule set to match Orihime's, the two walked to their class 3-1. Getting to the office early had made sure that they weren't late to class. Groups of people

weregathered around the room talking, laughing, and playing games. Uryruu was already seated, as usual, with a book in front of him. "Oh look! There's Uryruu." Orihime said waving her

hand above her head. "Uryruu!" The Quincy tore his gaze of his book and looked in their direction. Walking towards his desk, Orihime gestured to Rianna. "Uryruu this is my cousin Rianna.

Rianna this is my friend Uryruu." She quickly introduced them. Adjusting his glasses, Uryruu gave her a nod and small smile. "It's very nice to meet you Rianna." Rianna smiled back at him

replying, "You can just call me Rie. It's nice to meet you too. Orihime has told me that you're quite the archer." At this Uryruu's eyebrows shot up. "Oh she has? I wasn't aware that my

talents were hers to disclose." He said curtly giving Orihime a hard look. Rianna noticed the tension and jumped in. "She only told me because I've been shooting a bow since I could walk.

I just think she wanted to make sure I'd have something shared to break the ice with." Uryruu turned towards Rianna. With one eyebrow still raised he gave her an assessing gaze. "You

think you're good with a bow?" He asked with slight amusement in his voice. Rianna gave a grin and replied, "Four time Ozark Region Archery Champ." He gave a scoff. "Competitions

aren't a true test of skill. It's rigged to give contestants the optimal conditions. Shooting at a moving target is different then firing at a stationary target." He said with a hint of disdain.

Rianna's eyes narrowed faintly and she gave a little smirk. "Darling" she began with an edge, "I lived on a farm in the middle of the Ozarks in North America. Wolves, mountain lions, bears,

wild hogs, and coyotes aren't exactly elusive there. But I have no need to prove myself to you. I know what I can do. Maybe one day you'll see for yourself."

~~~~A male voice came from behind them. "At least I'm not the only one that Uryruu is an arrogant ass to." Rianna turned to see a tall, slim boy with spiky orange hair. Orihime smiled

brightly. "Ichigo! I was hoping you wouldn't be late today. I wanted you to get to meet my cousin. This is Rianna." Rianna stuck out her hand. "Rie is fine. Pleasure to meet you." Ichigo

looked at her outstretched hand for a moment before reaching and accepting her shake. Rianna looked down at their hands. "You train with a sword." She stated matter-o-factly. Ichigo's

eyes widened.

~~"How…did…you?" He started to stutter. She flipped his palm over. "You have calluses from where the hilt sets and when you stand your hand automatically begins to sway to the

side where it would hang. I studied Japanese weapons for a class before." She said with a wink. He began to say something until Rukia stepped around him. "Rianna, it is nice to see you

again. I hope you got a good night's rest." She said with a small bow. Rianna returned the nod before responding. "It was better than I had hoped for. I was expec…" A voice interrupted,

"A New Girl! Let Me Give You Your Welcome Hug!" A boy was running at a dead sprint towards Rie with hands in front aimed suspiciously close to her chest. Before he could reach her, he

was picked up off the floor by another guy. "Keigo that is no way to greet a lady." A low voice said. Keigo dropped his head in shame. "I know! But I can't help it. She's so pretty." The tall,

muscular guy let go of Keigo's shirt and he dropped unceremoniously to the floor in a heap of dramatic tears.

Rianna looked down from Keigo to the other boy. He wasn't the norm around school either: Over six feet tall, largely muscled, with deep golden tanned skin and wavy shaggy hair only

a shade or two darker. '_He sticks out about as much as I do_.' She thought to herself. Keigo was still on the floor from his scene when someone noticed that instead of laying on the ground

weeping, he was now try to peek under Rie's skirt. A foot came down onto his back pinning him. Another small, thin boy gave her a friendly smile. "I apologize for his actions." He said

giving his friend a glare. Looking back up, he regained his smile and offered his hand. "I'm Mizurio. It's a pleasure to meet you." Rianna gave a laugh. "You also." She replied. She then

turned to the taller boy. "I'm sorry. I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Rianna, Orihime's cousin." She said offering her hand once more. "Chad." He replied with a nod. He took her

hand and Rianna could see that even though her hands weren't exactly lithe, his engulfed hers. They weren't as rough as she expected though. He let go just as the teacher walked into

the room.

~~~~"Ok Class. Let's get into our seat please." He called. Everyone started settling into seats. Orihime waved Rianna over to a seat next to her. As roll was being taken the instructor

stopped when he saw Rianna. "You're the new student then?" He asked. "Yes, Sir." She answered politely. "Name?" He continued. Rianna gave a sigh. '_Here it comes_.' "Rianna Wayah" she

said with familiar flow of practice. The teacher looked up. "Last name again, please." Rie gave another inward sigh. "Wayah- W-a-y-a-h" Immediately there was a series of giggles and

not-so-subtle snorts from classmates. "Class. That's Enough. Alright Miss Wayah, that's all." Rianna sat back down and rested her head on her desk. '_This could be a long day_.'

~~~~However, when the teacher said that was all, the class was far from over. The topic for the day was literature around the world, Classics from all over. For a while they spoke of the

books in Japan that were common reading in schools. However, as the countries got farther away the teacher began to ask her more and more questions, almost pointedly so. "So, Miss

Wayah, at your school in America did they have you read authors from other countries or simply from your own?" Rianna gave him a quizzical look. "Of course we read from other countries

authors. We're given a mixture between American and foreign authors." She answered hesitantly. "Well, do you feel that you could confidently name some of the authors that you are

saying you read from?" He asked again with an accusing tone. Rie was taken aback from this. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Orihime looking nervously from her to the teacher.

What really sent her over was she could see Uryruu give a couple of silent shakes from laughter.

~~~~Setting her jaw she looked at the instructor. "Why yes, I can. Sylvia Plath, Shakespeare,Dante Alighieri, Gustave Flaubert, Alexandre Dumas, Knut Hamsun," With each name she

produced the smugness disappeared from the teachers face in equal degrees. "Victor Hugo,Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, Ludovico Ariosto, Primo Le." "Enough!" The teacher called. Even

now Rianna felt satisfaction as she saw red creep up on not only the teacher, but Uryruu as well. To drive her point home she asked, "Are you sure? Because I can name the books that I

read by them too." The teacher was clearly agitated. "No, that's enough." He said his words laced with a crisp bite. She didn't stop there though. "Really? That's a shame because maybe I

could even give you a quickly bio. Name a few lovers, personal writing quirks, what STD's they had…" She could see that all her classmates were looking at her incredulously. Except for

Orihime, that was. She had her head bowed and was silently giggling to herself. "Enough! Please excuse yourself from my class immediately!" He growled. The red that had only been

creeping up earlier was now full spread to his face. Rianna grabbed her bag and books and walked out the back of the room to keep as far away from him as she could. Walking by the

back row she thought she could hear the low rumble of a chuckle, but at this point it didn't matter.

~~~She was pissed.


	3. Chapter 3

Rianna walked out of the school taking deep breathes. This wasn't exactly the way she wanted to start off this visit. But damn it, he had asked for it. She pulled the pack of clove

cigarettes from her bag and walked out to the wall around the school. She sat against the wall and pulled one out of the pack. '_My guilty pleasure_.' She thought to herself as she pulled out

her lighter to light it. The first drag was the best. She didn't really smoke. This was just her at-wits-end stress relief. As she exhaled the anger and frustration seemed to leave her body.

She raised her hand to cradle her head. '_This is not my finest moment_.' She heard someone walking in her direction and waited for them to pass. After a moment or so it was clear that they

hadn't.

She looked up to see Chad leaning against the wall looking straight ahead. He didn't say anything and that was a nice relief. Rianna was tired of everyone asking if she was alright or

apologizing for past things. They sat in silence for a good ten minutes, with her slowly smoking so she could enjoy the feeling of the cigarette. "Those will kill you, ya know." Rianna looked

up with an eyebrow raised. Chad was still leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "Shouldn't you be in class or something?" She asked with a bit more defensiveness in her

voice than she meant. He shrugged and replied. "Orihime asked me to find you. She is in the principal's office now talking about what happened in class." Rianna shook her head. '_Great._

_Now I'm making 'Hime look bad._' She gave a sigh. Sensing her guilt Chad spoke up. "He's an ass. Always has been. Don't worry about it." Rianna looked up at him. "Nice to know it wasn't

personal." She replied with sarcasm. She got to her feet and dusted herself off. "I think I'm just going to skip the rest of this day. Tell Hime that I'm sorry for me, will ya?" She asked picking

up her bag. Chad gave a little scoff. Rianna looked at him. "What? Is that a problem? I can find her myself if you like." He just shook his head before saying, "No, I just didn't figure you as a

quitter." He then walked back towards the school. Rianna frowned. '_I didn't think I was either._' After a big sigh, she straightened her clothes and walked back into the school.

~*~*~*~*~*

Apparently her little display gave her a bit of a reputation. People now would "discreetly" point at her and whisper with their friends. Walking to her next class she saw Orihime. "Rie!

Where did you go?" She asked with a worried look. "I'm so sorry 'Hime. I swear I didn't want my first day to be like this. I apologize if I embarrassed you." Rianna told her, hanging her

head in shame. Orihime looked shocked. "You didn't embarrass me! I couldn't believe he went after you like that. I went straight to the office after class. He's going to be talked to today."

She replied. Rianna looked at her cousin. '_Always looking out for me, just like when we were kids_.' She then hugged her. "You are the best." Rianna told her.

The next few classes went on without such excitement. The few classmates that shared Rianna's classes kept looking at her as if she would go off any second. It was getting rather

tiresome actually.

Finally lunch came around. She and Orihime went and say with the others under the same tree that, just the day before, Orihime had told everyone about Rianna. They sat down and

began to eat, but it wasn't going to a silent lunch at all. Uryruu had decided that he didn't want to eat with them that day. No doubt because of their little incident earlier that day. Ichigo

was the first one to bring up the scene in English. "That was a ballsy move earlier." He told Rianna. She gave a shrug. "Not really. I'm just really…opinionated." She said with a smirk. He

shook his head with a small grin. Rukia changed the subject. "So, your last name, I've never heard anything like it. They way you said it, it sounded like a different language." Rie gave a

nod and said, "It is. I'm half Cherokee Indian. I got it from my mother. It means wolf." Rukia gave a small nod of understanding and continued. "That's interesting. Did you live on a

reservation or something?" Rianna gave a laugh. "Oh no! I'm not entirely accepted in those circles. I'm too light. For some reason, unless you are dark skinned they treat you like you are

an outsider." She replied looking down at her hands. Rukia looked apologetic. "Oh, sorry to bring it up." Rie gave a small shake of her head. "It's fine. After a few years it isn't that big of a

deal." Orihime gave a small giggle and looked at Rianna. "Do you remember that time when that boy from across town started calling you names?" Rianna gave a big grin and said, "Yes I

do. It was not a good day for him." The others gave her an odd look. Orihime took up the explanation. "He went to school with Rie. He was calling her all kinds of name's which didn't really

matter. But then he started to attack me. They were calling me all sorts of names. It wasn't pleasant. Well, Rianna told him that he should stop saying things about me. He didn't listen. A

group of his friends ganged up on me and Rie. She bloodied the three eldest faces. Then she hogged tied the others." Orihime smiled as she thought of this, as did Rianna.

~*~*~*~*~*

The others all looked at Rianna as if she had grown a third head. She just gave a shrug and said, "Mess with me and it's one thing. Mess with my family and you have a mess on your

hands." The two girls shared a look that couldn't even be explained. Ichigo spoke up. "You took on a group of 5 boys?" He asked. Rianna smiled even wider before answering him. "They

didn't even know what they were getting into. I'm an old soul type. I'm not into fighting. But I won't let my family suffer." She told him. They all gave nods of acknowledgement. Chad even

went a bit farther when he said, "I can't blame you." Rie gave him a smile and said, "You're a gentle soul, Chad. I'm close to my family. They're all I have." There was obviously more to the

story than what she was offering, but no one pushed it. Everyone had limits.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

Once lunch was done, another bout of classes went without a hitch, other than how Rianna's last name was pronounced. She and Orihime walked home and discussed the day. "You

did so much better than before, Rie." Orihime told her. "Maybe, I don't know Hime. This might not be for me. It's a bit of a stretch." Rie said as they walked around the corner to Orihime's

apartment. "I think you are where you need to be. You are better here, like the old you." Hime said, knowing that she was hitting all kinds of buttons.

A question still lingered on Rianna's mind and she was not about to let it go un-answered. "Why did you send Chad to look for me?" Rie asked with a glance towards her cousin.

Orihime gave a little shrug and said, "I'm honestly not sure. He just doesn't ask a lot of questions and I thought you could use that." Rianna pondered that answer until they reached the

apartment. Once they were at the door Rie stopped Orihime. "Thank you. I just needed some space. You're the best." Rianna said giving Orihime a hug. Orihime gave a smile looking at her

cousin. She couldn't help but think to herself '_You deserve it_.' With that it was another night of homework and talk of the world back west.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day the teacher that gave Rianna so much trouble didn't so much as look at her. She gave a look towards him at one point and he looked down. It seemed that whatever that Orihime said to the principal took quite a hold on him. '_Better this than extra attention_.' She thought to herself. But she was kidding herself. The other students kept looking at her like she was about to go off. It was really taxing and getting old. Not exactly what you would call "low key". She had now become a school wide name, even her last name. It was down right ridiculous.

At lunch that day she sighed as another group of girls whispered about her as they walked by. "Hime, I'm not sure how much more I can take of this." Rianna said, nodding to the girls. Orihime gave a small shrug and replied, "The Rianna that I know wouldn't care what a few silly people are saying about her." This made Rie stop and rethink her approach. She wasn't this fragile girl that needed approval. In fact, when Rianna really thought about it, she would get on her own nerves. Taking a deep breath she looked at Orihime and asked, "Do you have an equestrian stable around here?" Orihime looked deep in thought. After a few moments she answered, "Yea, I'm pretty sure I know one on the out skirts of the city." A couple of second passed before she continued, "Would it be ok if I invited the others when we go?" Rianna gave a shrug. "I really don't care. I just need to ride." With that plans were already in the works to go to the nearest stable.

Two weeks later, and no hollow attacks, the entire group (including Uryruu) went to the stables to ride. Ichigo happened to think the entire thing was a waste of time. That was until Rianna reasoned with him. "This is stupid. Who cares about smelly horses? We have cars now." He said with indignation. Rianna looked at him and said, "I know it doesn't sound important, but riding helps improve your balance and the ability to read another. A horse feels your movements and follows your direction."

At the barn Rianna talked to the barn owner. She returned to the group. "He said that he's going to start you all off on beginner horses just to get a feel of what you know. I'm even getting a special horse. These are mostly jumping horses. I don't jump. Mine are working horses. He's giving me one that just got here about a week ago. Apparently he's high strung." She told them while pointing each person to their horse. Hers was a black and white paint that had just been brought from the Eastern U.S. She could see his spirit in his eyes. He was going to put her through the paces alright.

Once she was done and everyone had saddled eastern style, she saddled up with a full on western saddle. '_This is going to be great._' She thought to herself. The owners of the farm they went to were on had calves going missing. It was up to her and her friends to find out what was going on. Each was armed with a small hand gun and Rianna asked for a .22 rifle. She thought that being handed guns by strangers would be off if it hadn't been for the fact that Ichigo's father knew the owners.

Tightening up the girth once more and giving it a little shake, she could already see the horse shivering. He knew what was coming. The others had already mounted and were waiting for Rie. She walked to the head of her horse checking out the bridle. While she was up there she talked soothingly to the horse. "Hey big guy, it's me and you today. How about you don't give me any problems and I won't give you any?" She said, rubbing the sides of his face and looking into his eyes. He gave a little snort and made a few low grunting sounds. She smiled at him. "It's odd, I know. But we'll do alright if you can just let me guide you." He pushed out his neck slightly and nosed her chest. She gave a giggle and gave him a firm pat. Pulling the reins above his head and guiding them back the saddle she placed her left foot into the stirrup and lifted up onto the horse in a fluid, practiced motion. The owners pointed them in the direction of the cattle and they were off.

The sound of leather creaking and horses breathing made Rianna sigh in recognition. The field had a few open meadows but was mostly tree covered. "We should start around the perimeter and see if we can find anything." She said to Orihime, who was riding beside her on a pretty little sorrel. "I agree. We should stay in a group. More eyes this way." She replied. Rie gave a nod. She then frowned. "What's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked from the other side of Hime. His palomino perked its ears as he spoke. "Wild dogs usually don't go after livestock during the day. They're nocturnal unless desperate. Dogs are only predators to smaller game. They prefer to scavenge." Rianna told him with a glance down at her horse. He started prancing around on his front legs. His nostrils flared and he took a few deep breaths. "Hold on guys." She said in a lower voice. Everyone pulled their horses to a stop.

Everyone's horses started getting restless. Uryruu gave a little yank on the reins. "They're getting nervous." He said while keeping pressure on his bay's reins. Rianna looked at him and gave him a nod. "Listen. What do you hear?" She asked him. Everyone was quiet. Uryruu gave a frown before relying, "Nothing. No birds, no animals, not even any insects." Rianna pulled the rifle from the back. She slowly cocked it with a sharp metal sound.

They traveled forward slowly, the only sounds were the hooves stepping on leaves. The farmers kept the majority of the underbrush cleared as to not make it too difficult to retrieve cattle. Thirty feet into the tree line a smell hit the group. "Ugh. What's that smell?" Ichigo asked with his nose crinkled. Rianna pulled the gun up to her shoulder as she said, "Rotting flesh." The energy instantly took on a tense vibe. The horses started to get restless again. "Would everyone just relax, the horses are picking up on your nerves. Trust me, you do not want a nervous horse under you." She snapped at the others. Everyone calmed themselves down and just became more alert.

Moving again they only had to go another fifteen before coming upon the body of a full grown cow that had been slaughtered. Orihime gave a gasp. The body had been hollowed out. All the internal organs were missing and the skin was shredded in several places. Chad gave a grunt and said, "It's been here for a bit." Rianna gave a grimace. "Yes it has. You can see that there are three different places that were attacked. Each place that the skin is torn was an attack sight. But I have to say…" She paused. "It wasn't wild dogs that did this." Uryruu finished.

Rianna moved her horse closer. "The paw prints around the body look feline, but I didn't think you had any native cat species that got this large. The cat that made these had to be at least 600 pounds. But I thought there were no tigers here and that's the only cat that gets that big." She said looking back at the group. Uryruu frowned and told her "There aren't except for in zoos."

Just then a branch made a sound to the right of the group. All eyes turned toward the noise. "If this is a big cat we need to get out into the open. We're vulnerable here. We need to make a horizontal line and get out of here, Now!" Rie yelled and turned to spin her horse. The others set themselves up into a line and took off out of there at a gallop. It was lucky that they had only gone into the tree line forty-five feet. The sounds of heavy running from behind them spurred the horses into a frenzied rush. Rianna leaned forward against her horse's neck and poured her self-confidence into the animal. They would be easy pickings if someone didn't get their animal under control. Clearing the trees a horrible roar came from behind them.

Rianna let out slack in the reins giving her horse the head way it needed. That's when she gave him a good nudge in the sides. His gait changed and strides became longer and smoother. He reached his neck out to lengthen his body. He easily overtook the other horses. Rie got a good twenty feet in front of the others before using her right leg to pull into her horse's side. Her hunch was right and the horse used that as his cue to make a dime turn 180 degrees. As he was turning she pulled the rifle up to her shoulder and aimed.

The beast that was charging them was not a tiger. It had a feline body that was grey and red. Its build was as heavy as a tiger, but the legs were longer. The tail was tipped in a barbed ball. Its face was covered in an oblong white mask with jutting cheeks and sharp jagged teeth. It was running at them so quickly that Rianna didn't know how they escaped in the first place. She pulled her rifle up and it let out a crack as the round left the barrel. It went completely through the thing. She could hear Ichigo yelling in the back ground. Out of her peripheral vision to her left she could see Orihime's horse start to throw its head. She turned her head to see the horse begin to walk backwards throwing its head more violently. '_Not good!_' The sorrel started jumping with its front feet, getting higher and higher off the ground. Orihime was trying to keep the animal under control, but it was too terrified. It gave a one final jump and reared onto its hind legs. Orihime tried to hold on, however she lost her grip and tumbled backwards.

With a 'Thud' Orihime hit the ground. She was pushing herself up from the ground when the creature caught sight of her. It changed it's path headed straight for her. Rianna, along with Ichigo and Chad, jumped from their horses. Rianna blocked everything out and began a process that given to her when she was little.

Ichigo, in his spirit form, and Chad raced towards Orihime, shouting for Rianna to get back. Chad reached Orihime and picked her up, heading back to Uryruu. On his way back he caught a glance of something and stopped cold. Ichigo caught the same spike in Spiritual Pressure stopped and looked in the direction it was coming from. A green glow had surrounded Rianna as she was running. Her mouth was moving in silent words and her hands were pressed together. The glowing grew brighter, which caught the creature off guard. It spun itself in the direction of the glow and stopped. Even still, the glowing became brighter and more opaque until just a solid mass of flame looking green spirit pressure was moving. Almost halfway to the Hollow it burst to reveal a wolf that was four times the size that it should have been. Its white fur was bristled and its snout was fixed in a vicious snarl. Green flame surrounded its feet and the same glow seemed to radiate from its eyes. It raced forward faster towards the Hollow.

The group could only stare as they watched the wolf leap over the Hollow in one bound and land behind it silently. The Hollow turned and rose onto its back legs to take a downward swipe at the wolf. However, it exposed its throat in the process which gave the wolf perfect leverage. It sprang forward locking its jaws onto the throat of the Hollow. The Hollow gave a terrible scream and began to claw desperately at the wolf. It clamped its jaws down tighter and green began to ooze out of its mouth. The Hollow was now desperate to get the wolf off. It wasn't strong enough though, because with one final squeeze the teeth closed and the Hollow vanished.

Giving a shake of its head the wolf began to walk back towards the group. Ichigo, who had moved beside Chad and Hime, took a tighter grip on his sword and raised it parallel with the ground. "Ichigo, no!" Orihime yelled. He looked over to Orihime. "What is she?" He demanded. Walking close still the wolf began to glow once again. The process to turn back was much faster and in a blink of an eye Rianna was the one walking towards them. "A witch." Rianna said keeping her gait steady and eyes level.


End file.
